Raised Hands: Blessing That Looks Past Sin
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Vayikra 9:22
וַיִּשָּׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת־יָדָו אֶל־הָעָם וַיְבָרְכֵם וַיֵּרֶד מֵעֲשֹׂת הַחַטָּאת וְהָעֹלָה וְהַשְּׁלָמִים
And Aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he came down from performing the sin offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings.
Rashi: “And blessed them”: with the priestly blessing.
1“And Aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them …”1
וַיִּשָּׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת יָדָיו אֶל הָעָם וַיְבָרְכֵם וְגוֹ׳ (ט, כב).
- Vayikra 9:22. ↩
In shortAharon lifts his hands toward the people and blesses them.
2Rashi explains “and blessed them” as the priestly blessing, following the Yerushalmi.2 The Mishnah learns from this verse that the Kohen raises his hands when he gives the priestly blessing.3 But we need to understand what raising the hands during the priestly blessing means.
פֵּירֵשׁ רש״י, וַיְבָרְכֵם בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים (והוא מירושלמי תענית פ״ד ה״א). וּבְמַתְנִיתִין (סוטה לח, א) לָמְדוּ מִכָּתוּב זֶה שֶׁהַכֹּהֵן מַגְבִּיהַּ יָדָיו בִּשְׁעַת בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים, וְיֵשׁ לְהָבִין עִנְיָן הֲרָמַת הַיָּדַיִים בִּשְׁעַת בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים.
In shortThe Kohanim raise their hands as they bless, learned from Aharon; but what does raising the hands mean?
3The mitzvah of the priestly blessing begins: “Speak to Aharon and to his sons … So shall you bless Bnei Yisrael; say to them.”4 We should look closely at the wording. It begins with dabeir, “speak,” a harsh expression, and then uses amor, “say,” which is soft speech.5
וְהִנֵּה בְּמִצְוַת בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים נֶאֱמַר (במדבר ו, כג) ״דַּבֵּר אֶל אַהֲרֹן וְאֶל בָּנָיו וְגוֹ׳ כֹּה תְבָרְכוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אָמוֹר לָהֶם״, וְיֵשׁ לְדַיֵּיק שֶׁבַּתְּחִילָּה נֶאֱמַר ׳דַּבֵּר׳ לָשׁוֹן קָשָׁה, וּלְאַחַר מִכֵּן ׳אֱמוֹר׳ שֶׁהוּא אֲמִירָה רַכָּה.
In shortThe command to bless opens with the harsh dabeir, “speak,” and moves to the soft amor, “say”; why the change?
4The Gemara asks what blessing the Kohen recites before the priestly blessing, and answers: “… Who has sanctified us with the holiness of Aharon, and commanded us to bless His people Israel with love.”6 The Maharatz Chayes cites a question from the sefer Be'er Sheva: where in the Torah do we find that the Kohanim were commanded to bless “with love”?
וּבַגְּמָרָא (סוטה לח, א) אָמְרוּ, מַאי מְבָרֵךְ וְכוּ׳ אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בִּקְדוּשָּׁתוֹ שֶׁל אַהֲרֹן וְצִוָּנוּ לְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאַהֲבָה, ובמהרי״ץ חַיּוֹת הֵבִיא מִסֵּפֶר בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע שֶׁהִקְשָׁה הֵיכָן מָצִינוּ בַּתּוֹרָה שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ הַכֹּהֲנִים לְבָרֵךְ בְּאַהֲבָה.
- Sotah 39a (the sefer has 38a). ↩
In shortThe Kohanim's blessing speaks of a command to bless “with love”; where does the Torah ever command that?
5aWe can explain this through the words of my holy father and teacher, zt"l, on the verse “And Aharon lifted up … and he came down from performing the sin offering …” He taught that the tzaddik of the generation needs two qualities and levels. The first is to bestow an abundance of blessing on Israel; the second is to rebuke the people of Israel in order to set their ways right. But while he sees their sins and rebukes them, he cannot at the same time bestow blessing and abundance on them, for if he sees their sin, they have no vessel ready to receive the blessing. That is why “the lips of the Kohen guard knowledge.”7 Tzaddikim have this knowledge: when they wish to bestow good on Bnei Yisrael, at that moment they see in them no lack and no judgment, and look only at the good in Israel. On the contrary, they sweeten the harsh judgments. Only when they need to rebuke Israel do they rebuke it for its failings.
וְיֵשׁ לְפָרֵשׁ עַל פִּי אִמְרֵי קוֹדֶשׁ כ״ק אאמו״ר זצללה״ה עַל הַכָּתוּב ״וַיִּשָּׂא אַהֲרֹן וְגוֹ׳ וַיֵּרֶד מֵעֲשׂוֹת הַחַטָּאת״ וְגוֹ׳, כִּי צַדִּיק הַדּוֹר צָרִיךְ שֶׁיִּהְיוּ בּוֹ שְׁתֵּי דְּרָגוֹת וּמַעֲלוֹת, הָאַחַת לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה, וְהַשֵּׁנִית לְהוֹכִיחַ אֶת עַם יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּכְדֵי לְתַקֵּן דַּרְכֵיהֶם, אָכֵן בְּעֵת שֶׁהוּא רוֹאֶה חַטָּאֵיהֶם וּמוֹכִיחָם עַל כָּךְ אֲזַי אִי אֶפְשָׁר לוֹ בּוֹ בָּעֵת גַּם לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ עֲלֵיהֶם בְּרָכָה וְשֶׁפַע, כִּי בְּאִם רוֹאֶה חֶטְאָם מִמֵּילָא אֵין לָהֶם כְּלִי מוּכָן לְקַבֵּל הַבְּרָכָה, לָכֵן ״שִׂפְתֵי כֹהֵן יִשְׁמְרוּ דַעַת״ (מלאכי ב, ז), שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָהֶם דַּעַת לַצַּדִּיקִים שֶׁבְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהֵם רוֹצִים לְהַשְׁפִּיעַ הַשְׁפָּעוֹת טוֹבוֹת בְּאוֹתָהּ הָעֵת אֵינָם רוֹאִים כָּל חִסָּרוֹן וְדִין עַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶלָּא מַבִּיטִים אַךְ טוֹב עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאַדְּרַבָּה הֵם מַמְתִּיקִים אֶת הַדִּינִים, וְרַק בְּעֵת שֶׁהֵם צְרִיכִים לְהוֹכִיחַ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵם מוֹכִיחִים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל עַל חֶסְרוֹנוֹתֵיהֶם.
- Malachi 2:7. ↩
5bWith this he explained the verse “And Aharon lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them.” When Aharon came to bless Bnei Yisrael with the priestly blessing, with an abundance of blessing, “he came down from performing the chatas,” the sin offering, “and the shelamim,” the peace offerings. He stepped down and turned away from seeing their sins, and from trying to make Bnei Yisrael shleimim, perfectly whole. Instead he looked only at the good in them and bestowed on them an abundance of blessing. Those are his holy words.
וּבָזֶה פֵּירֵשׁ הַכָּתוּב ׳וַיִּשָּׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת יָדָיו אֶל הָעָם וַיְבָרְכֵם׳, שֶׁכַּאֲשֶׁר בָּא לְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּבִרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים בְּשֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה, אָז ׳וַיֵּרֶד מֵעֲשׂוֹת הַחַטָּאת וְהַשְּׁלָמִים׳, שֶׁיָּרַד וְסִילֵּק עַצְמוֹ מִלִּרְאוֹת חַטָּאֵיהֶם, וּמִלְּחַפֵּשׂ לְהַשְׁלִים בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּשְׁלֵימוּת, אֶלָּא הִבִּיט אַךְ בַּטּוֹב שֶׁבָּהֶם וְהִשְׁפִּיעַ עֲלֵיהֶם שֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה, עכד״ק.
In shortA tzaddik cannot rebuke and bless at once, the Rebbe's father taught; to bless, Aharon looked only at Israel's good, not at its sins.
6Building on his words, we may add a further explanation of “And Aharon lifted up his hands.” Twice yad, “hand,” has the numerical value 28, [the value of koach, “power,”] and this hints at harsh judgments. As the verse says, “the hands are the hands of Esav”:8 Esav's power to do harm, Heaven forbid, lies in his hands, and this is the root of the gevuros, the forces of severity, and of harsh judgments. At the time of the priestly blessing, the Kohanim must lift up and remove the judgments, so as not to see any judgment or evil upon Israel. In this way they can draw down an abundance of blessing.
וְיֵשׁ לְהוֹסִיף עוֹד עַל פִּי דְּבָרָיו לְבָאֵר מַה דִּכְתִיב ׳וַיִּשָּׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת יָדָיו׳, כִּי ב׳ פְּעָמִים ׳יָד׳ עוֹלֶה בְּגֵימַטְרְיָא כ״ח, וְהוּא רוֹמֵז עַל בְּחִינַת הַדִּינִים, כִּי ״הַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂיו״ (בראשית כז, כב) שֶׁכּוֹחוֹ שֶׁל עֵשָׂיו הוּא בְּיָדַיִים לְהָרַע ח״ו, שֶׁהוּא שׁוֹרֶשׁ הַגְּבוּרוֹת וְהַדִּינִים, וּבְעֵת בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים עַל הַכֹּהֲנִים לְהַגְבִּיהַּ וּלְסַלֵּק הַדִּינִים, לְבַל לִרְאוֹת כָּל דִּין וְרַע עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וּבְאוֹפֶן זֶה יוּכְלוּ לְהַמְשִׁיךְ עֲלֵיהֶם שֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה.
- Bereishis 27:22. ↩
In shortRaising the two hands, whose value hints at Esav's power of judgment, means lifting away every judgment from Israel so that blessing can flow.
7This answers our question: why does the passage of the priestly blessing begin with dabeir, harsh speech, and end with amor, soft speech? It hints that at first the Kohanim must speak in the manner of vayedabeir, harsh speech, rebuking Bnei Yisrael. But when they come to bless Israel, their speech must be soft, sweetening the judgments. We can also explain the wording of the blessing this way: “Who commanded us to bless His people Israel with love.” When the Kohanim bless Israel, they first sweeten the judgments, which is the soft “say to them” we spoke of. Love then comes about between Israel and its Father in Heaven, and this is why they say that they bless His people Israel “with love.” [See the Be'er Sheva there, who cites something similar from the Midrash: amor is written in full, with the letter vav, because the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the Kohanim, “Do not bless Israel as a forced duty and in haste, just because I told you to bless them. Rather, bless them with heartfelt intent, so that the blessing will take hold of them.” And this is “with love,” meaning with a whole heart.]
וְעַל פִּי זֶה יְתוֹרַץ לָמָּה בְּעִנְיַן בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים נֶאֱמַר תְּחִילָּה לְשׁוֹן דִּיבּוּר קָשֶׁה וְסִיֵּים בַּאֲמִירָה רַכָּה, לְרַמֵּז כִּי בַּתְּחִילָּה צְרִיכִים לִהְיוֹת בִּבְחִינַת ׳וַיְדַבֵּר׳ לְהוֹכִיחַ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, אַךְ בְּעֵת שֶׁהֵם בָּאִים לְבָרֵךְ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת זֹאת בִּבְחִינַת אֲמִירָה רַכָּה עִם הַמְתָּקַת הַדִּינִים. וּבָזֶה יֵשׁ לְבָאֵר נוֹסַח הַבְּרָכָה ׳שֶׁצִּוָּנוּ לְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאַהֲבָה׳, כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר הַכֹּהֲנִים מְבָרְכִים אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲזַי תְּחִילָּה הֵם מַמְתִּיקִים אֶת הַדִּינִים, שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינַת ׳אֱמוֹר לָהֶם׳ כָּאָמוּר, וְנַעֲשָׂה אַהֲבָה בֵּין יִשְׂרָאֵל לַאֲבִיהֶן שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁמְּבָרְכִים לְבָרֵךְ אֶת עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל ׳בְּאַהֲבָה׳. [עַיֵּין בִּבְאֵר שֶׁבַע שָׁם שֶׁהֵבִיא מֵעֵין זֶה מִדִּבְרֵי הַמִּדְרָשׁ, דִּלְהָכֵי כְּתִיב ׳אֱמוֹר׳ מָלֵא, אָמַר לָהֶם הקב״ה לַכֹּהֲנִים, לֹא מִפְּנֵי שֶׁאָמַרְתִּי לָכֶם שֶׁתִּהְיוּ מְבָרְכִים אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל תִּהְיוּ מְבָרְכִין אוֹתָם בְּאַנְגַּרְיָא וּבְבֶהָלוֹת, אֶלָּא תִּהְיוּ מְבָרְכִין בְּכַוָּונַת הַלֵּב כְּדֵי שֶׁתִּשְׁלוֹט הַבְּרָכָה בָּהֶם, וְהַיְינוּ ׳בְּאַהֲבָה׳ כְּלוֹמַר בְּכָל לֵב].
In shortWhen blessing, the Kohanim turn from harsh rebuke to soft speech that sweetens judgment, creating love between Israel and Hashem: blessing “with love.”
8May Hashem grant that we be privileged to see the judgments sweetened, so that an abundance of blessing rests upon us until the coming of the righteous Redeemer. Amen, may it be His will.
יִתֵּן ה׳ יִתְבָּרַךְ שֶׁנִּזְכֶּה לְהַמְתָּקַת הַדִּינִים, וּבָזֶה יָחוּל עָלֵינוּ שֶׁפַע בְּרָכָה עַד בִּיאַת גּוֹאֵל צֶדֶק, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
In shortMay Hashem sweeten the judgments and rest abundant blessing upon us until the righteous Redeemer comes.
Takeaway
There is a time to rebuke and a time to bless, and they cannot share the same moment: one who is looking at another's sins cannot pour blessing upon him. When Aharon came to bless, he stepped back from Israel's faults and from what they still lacked, and saw only their good. Blessing given softly, sweetening the judgments, brings love between Israel and its Father in Heaven; given with a whole heart and not as a duty, it takes hold of those who receive it.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.